Buzzing sound PSU

JorenBus · May 29, 2016

I currently have a Corsair VS550 (I know, don't shoot me pls it's good for my needs) and it's making some sort of buzzing sound.

This usually happens when I boot up my PC, after a few minutes it stops and remains silent for the rest of the time.

I can also make the sound go away if I hit the back of my case a few times.

Is there any fix to this? I hope this doesn't mean the PSU is dying on me? It's relatively new.

alexhelvetica · May 29, 2016

The PSU is crap, it is not good enough for your needs.

What you are describing sounds like it is coil whining, you might be able to return it and get a good PSU.

JorenBus · May 29, 2016

3 minutes ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

The PSU is crap, it is not good enough for your needs.

What you are describing sounds like it is coil whining, you might be able to return it and get a good PSU.

Well if I return it I will still get the same PSU so...

Are you sure it's coil whining? It goes away anyway after a couple of minutes.

alexhelvetica · May 29, 2016

1 minute ago, JorenBus said:

Well if I return it I will still get the same PSU so...

Are you sure it's coil whining? It goes away anyway after a couple of minutes.

When you take it back to the store say you don't want a replacement, you want a refund, if the say no, complain.

I think that coil whining can go away after a couple of minutes.

Naeaes · May 29, 2016

2 minutes ago, JorenBus said:

Well if I return it I will still get the same PSU so...

Are you sure it's coil whining? It goes away anyway after a couple of minutes.

Coil whine is basically resonance. The coils, caps and whatnot vibrate while operating and make the noise. Like for all resonance, it takes a very specific range of frequencies and amplitudes for it to happen. That's why it only happens at certain temperatures and stress levels. Banging it throws it out of sync for a while too but it's a bad idea. Something is clearly loose and banging it definitely won't glue it back in. Quite the opposite.

JorenBus · May 29, 2016

1 minute ago, Naeaes said:

Coil whine is basically resonance. The coils, caps and whatnot vibrate while operating and make the noise. Like for all resonance, it takes a very specific range of frequencies and amplitudes for it to happen. That's why it only happens at certain temperatures and stress levels. Banging it throws it out of sync for a while too but it's a bad idea. Something is clearly loose and banging it definitely won't glue it back in. Quite the opposite.

So I should RMA it?

Naeaes · May 29, 2016

1 minute ago, JorenBus said:

So I should RMA it?

You can always try. It's your right as a consumer.

But the thing is, you're basically complaining about

a) an issue that's a known by-product of the technology

b) about noise in a product that was not marketed as being absolutely silent

c) an issue that may well be caused by your system itself

I'd personally not bother. The replacement might not be any better. I've worked as an RMA handler for a Corsair retailer in Finland and our instructions (given by the Finnish importer, not Corsair themselves, mind you) were not to replace coil whine unit if the noise was the only issue.